Paul J Allison
I am a dentist with professional training in the fields of oral surgery and dental public health, plus research training in the field of clinical epidemiology. My research interests concern evaluation of clinical and other interventions aimed at improving oral health among patient and community groups, plus health service and population level interventions to improve oral health, oral health care and health policies. My particular area of research interest is understanding barriers to accessing dental care and how to overcome them, including training dental and other health care professionals in ways that help improve access to dental care. I am currently leading a team of researchers from all 10 Canadian, working with Statistics Canada to perform the next national oral health survey as part of the Canadian Health Measures survey, cycle 7. I have also recently become heavily involved in evaluating COVID-19 infection rates in dentists and dental hygienists in the community as well as across Canadian dental schools. I also aim to help translate evidence into action through participation in a number of organizations whose goals aim to improve education, research health, health care and health policy. I am a member of a Lancet Commission on Global Oral Health (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/epidemiology-health-care/research/epidemiology-and-public-health/research/dental-public-health/lancet-commission-oral-health).
BDS, FDSRCS(Eng), MSc, PhD, FCAHS
- Dental public health
- Access to dental care
DENT 685 Theory of Dental Public Health
DENT 217 Foundations of Dentistry
DENT 125 Oral Health Research
2011: Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
2012: Winner of the Réseau de recherche en santé buccodentaire et osseuse prix Micheline Blaine pour la contribution exceptionnelle d'un scientifique, d'un clinicien ou d'un gestionnaire à l'évolution de la santé buccodentaire par la qualité de son travail, de sa vision ou de son influence
2013: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal
2020: International Association of Dental Research, Behavioural, Epidemiologic & Health Services Scientific Group; The Aubrey Sheiham Award for Distinguished Research in Dental Public Health
Selected recent peer-reviewed publications
PJ Allison, RF de Souza, L. Aboud and M. Morris: “Evidence to support safe return to clinical practice by oral health professionals in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: A report prepared for the Office of the Chief Dental Officer of Canada.” This evidence synthesis was prepared for the Office of the Chief Dental Officer, based on a comprehensive review, under contract (August 2020)
Cost estimate of a federal dental care program for uninsured Canadians. Parliamentary Budget Office; October 2020; https://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/web/default/files/Documents/Reports/RP-2021-028-M/RP-2021-028-M_en.pdf
PJ Allison, RF de Souza, L. Aboud and M. Morris: “Evidence to support safe return to clinical practice by oral health professionals in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: A report prepared for the Office of the Chief Dental Officer of Canada. November 2020 update” This evidence synthesis was prepared for the Office of the Chief Dental Officer, based on a comprehensive review, under contract (November 2020)
Allison P, Tamimi F. (2020): Mouthguards should be worn in contact sports. British Journal of Sports Medicine; 54:1015–1018doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102041
Richard G Watt, Blánaid Daly, Paul Allison, Lorna M D Macpherson, Renato Venturelli, Stefan Listl, Robert J Weyant, Manu R Mathur, Carol C Guarnizo-Herreño, Roger Keller Celeste, Marco A Peres, Cristin Kearns and Habib Benzian (2019): The Lancet Oral Health Series – Implications for Oral and Dental Research. Journal of Dental Research. 99(1):8-10.
Marco A Peres, Lorna M D Macpherson, Robert J Weyant, Blánaid Daly, Renato Venturelli, Manu R Mathur, Stefan Listl, Roger Keller Celeste, Carol C Guarnizo-Herreño, Cristin Kearns, Habib Benzian, Paul Allison, Richard G Watt (2019): Oral diseases: A global public health challenge. The Lancet. Vol 394:249-60. (see https://www.thelancet.com/series/oral-health)
Richard G Watt, Blánaid Daly, Paul Allison, Lorna M D Macpherson, Renato Venturelli, Stefan Listl, Robert J Weyant, Manu R Mathur, Carol C Guarnizo-Herreño, Roger Keller Celeste, Marco A Peres, Cristin Kearns, Habib Benzian (2019): Ending the neglect of global oral health: Time for radical action. The Lancet. Vol 396:261-72. (see https://www.thelancet.com/series/oral-health)
C. Laprise, S. Arekunnath Madathil, N. Schlecht, G. Castonguay D. Soulieres, F. Nguyen, P. Allison, F. Coutlee, M. Hier, M-C, Rousseau, E. Franco & B. Nicolau (2019): Increased risk of oropharyngeal cancers is mediated by oral human papillomavirus infection: results from a Canadian study. Head & Neck. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/hed.25436
N. Makansi, PJ Allison, M. Awad & C. Bedos (2018): Fruit and vegetable intake among Emirati adolescents: A mixed methods study. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. Vol 24(7):653–663. https://doi.org/10.26719/2018.24.7.653
Furlini L, Noushi N, Castonguay G, Bedos C, Allison P, De Souza R, Esfandiari S, Hovey R, Macdonald ME, Morris M, Nicolau B, Power F, Feine JS (2018): Assessing Dental Student Readiness to Treat the Underserved: A Scoping Review. Journal of Dental Education. Vol 82(5):483-91
V. D’Souza*, E. Watson*, E. Blouin, A. Zeitouni, & P.J. Allison (2018): Information Service in Head and Neck Cancer Care – a qualitative study. Supportive Care in Cancer. 26(1):91-98
V. D’Souza, E. Blouin, A. Zeitouni,K. Muller & PJ Allison (2017): Multimedia Information Intervention and its Benefits in Partners of the Head and Neck Cancer Patients. European Journal of Cancer Care. 26(4): e12440
Laprise C, Shahul HP, Madathil SA, Thekkepurakkal AS, Castonguay G, Varghese I, Shiraz S, Allison P, Schlecht NF, Rousseau MC, Franco EL & Nicolau B. (2016): Periodontal diseases and risk of oral cancer in Southern India: Results from the HeNCe Life study. International Journal of Cancer. 139(7):1512-9
C. Laprise, S. Arekunnath Mathadil, P Allison, P. Abraham, A. Raghavendran, S.H.K. Puthiyannal, A.S. Thekkepurakkal, G. Castonguay, F. Coutlée, N. Schlecht, M-C. Rousseau, E.L. Franco, & B. Nicolau (2016): No role for human papillomavirus infection in oral cancers in Southern India. International Journal of Cancer. 138(4):912-17
H. Dahan*, Y. Shir, B. Nicolau, D. Keith & P Allison (2016): Migraine and chronic fatigue syndrome are more prevalent in people with myofascial vs. non-myofascial temporomandibular disorders. Journal of Oral and Facial Pain and Headache. 30(1):7-13